Rachael Loxston Health Articles

Dealing with the health service when long-term illness strikes Illness can strike at all levels. A mild ailment usually requires a GP visit who will advise further treatment and possibly a prescription. Living with a long-term but manageable illness such as diabetes, will usually require regular check-ups either at the GP's surgery and the nearest hospital outpatient clinic.  A severe illness which requires long-term hospital admission is probably the most trying experience for the sufferer and their immediate family and friends. Dealing with doctors and nurses within the health service can be besieged with problems, but they have enormously difficult jobs- they deal with many patients and work long shifts and antisocial hours on often understaffed over managed wards. Nurses work on shifts and are reliant on the previous understaffed nurse for a handover of new patients. Then there are the endless drug rounds and paper work that besieges a modern day nurse. All patients hav...

The humble chilli is more than just a spicy supplement to food but a proven benefit in the fight against cancer, the management of diabetes and pain relief . I admit it, I am a fan of chillies. I have eaten them regularly for about 20 years and will incorporate them in soups, pasta, salads and noodle dishes as well as curries. I can’t get enough of them but I wasn’t always sure why. Yes, I love spicy foods but I have also wondered if I have actually become addicted to them over the years. Now I have discovered that eating chillies do give you a proven head start in fighting cancer, diabetes and the common cold and there are scientific reasons for this.                                                                                               ...

For adults, getting eight hours' sleep a night has long been seen as one of the keys to a healthy and balanced life.  It could be argued that in the days of three channel TV, lack of computers, consoles and Smartphones we went to work, watched a bit of telly then went to bed. Usually at a normal hour between 10 and 11. It was the norm. But things seemed to have changed. Routines have changed and even children are caught up in the lack of sleep epidemic that is sweeping Britain. Recent statistics state that the average worker is losing two and a half years of sleep over the course of their career.  In fact, the average working adult loses just over ten hours' sleep every week, which adds up to more than one complete night's rest.  That adds up to 520 hours over a year or 23,140 hours (2.5 years) over the average working lifetime.  Bad bedtime habits for children Also, up to two thirds of children in the UK are not getting enough shut-eye - wi...